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Combining a few weak hives

I am going to be combining a few weak hives with a few stronger hives.

I have never used this newspaper thing before. Do you find this works better? I am going to use queen excluders as usual. How long does it take the bees to get through the paper, and should I make an entrance at the top then. I didn't want to but I guess I could. I have some old supers with holes in that I could use on top of the other hive.

Reason I am doing this is the queens I bought a couple weeks ago are still not laying and they are not going to make it through the winter I am sure.

I've used the newspaper method before. I've had just about as much fighting with it as I've had with just filling both hives with smoke and slapping them together. I think for something like requeening a strong hive it might work well, but I just quit worrying about it for combining week ones and I really haven't had many problems.

Have you considered overwintering the weak hives over a strong hive with screened partition between them. If you only put the new queens a couple of weeks ago , when how many brood cycles exist before the first hard freeze ? Here in central NY state we can expect a hard frost sometime around the 10 of October . Rick

b/c usually they are weak for a reason. combining weak hives usually ends up in a weak hive. you might see a boost at first since the population is higher but if the queen is not laying well that newly combined hive will become weak again.

I use the newspaper method to combine cutouts where I don't get the queen with established hives quite often. Sometimes they chew thru the paper in a day, and sometimes 4-5 days. (poke 3 to 4 little slices with your hive tool in the paper) I don't have an entrance for the upper hive, the idea is for them to become one hive, so they shouldn't have their own way in and out. I never have used a queen excluder.

b/c usually they are weak for a reason. combining weak hives usually ends up in a weak hive. you might see a boost at first since the population is higher but if the queen is not laying well that newly combined hive will become weak again.

Right! I already have weak ones and those are not laying. So... I am going to put them with ones that they will blend in with and get help with worker bees that can help build,feed, etc. I am hoping that later she might start laying... then do a split in the spring.

(poke 3 to 4 little slices with your hive tool in the paper) I don't have an entrance for the upper hive, the idea is for them to become one hive, so they shouldn't have their own way in and out. I never have used a queen excluder.

Ok thanks.. I will use a nail before I take the paper out.
You never use an excluder when putting two queens together?

Don't use an excluder if you only want to end up with one queen, and most times the queen on top is the one that wins.

If you want to have a 2 queen hive, Use 2 wood framed queen excluders on top of each other, or use 2, one on top and one on bottom of a bee box inbetween the two queens. Queens can get to each other thru a single queen excluder.

"A good day is when no one shows up and you don't have to go anywhere." - Burt Shavitz (Burt's Buzz)

I used large onion bags folded in half or old window screen this spring.
I just went back and removed it after a day or two it lets the top half breath better than paper and you dont need the extra entrance.

This method has worked very well for me. One word of caution on this method -- if there is hot weather, but sure to give some ventilation to the bees in the top box. You can just crack open the top by putting a sliver of wood or stick under the top. If you crack it enough, they will use that as an entrance, but that will not keep them from blending. If it is too hot and no ventilation on the top, they can suffocate up there.

ndvan writes:
If it is too hot and no ventilation on the top, they can suffocate up there.

tecumseh sezs: yep.

on several occasions I have combined hives much like you suggested (a strong hive on bottom and a weak hive on top with a queen excluder in between) and found that the additon of plenty of young worker bees to the top hive make these queens (and hives) start hitting on all cylinders. on more than one occasion after 30 days I seperated the two unit and the 'weak' queen performed quite well.

I was going to ask this same question. I think I'm missing something here. I have two hives right next to one another(a few feet in between). One is not going to make it through winter. (the same one I wrote about a few weeks ago that was being robbed) The other is doing very well. I want to combine them. Should I do it now and what about the queen from the weak hive. What do I do about her?
I'm sorry if this has been answered already but as I said I think I missed something.
Thanks again everyone!!
Debbie